This invention relates to a fabric-marking apparatus and more particularly to a device for driving a tubular marking needle to impress an ink mark on each of a plurality of horizontally superposed fabric pieces at a prescribed point thereon.
Where pieces of clothing having the same dimensions are manufactured in large quantities, a prescribed number of said pieces are superposed horizontally and cut in the same pattern. In such case, the subject fabric-marking apparatus is applied in impressing an ink mark on each of said superposed fabric pieces clearly to indicate the positions of spots of sewing thereon such as pocket-fitting and button-fitting spots.
A fabric-marking apparatus used in the past comprised, for example, a movable tubular needle for piercing a plurality of horizontally superposed fabric pieces, an ink tank connected to the upper end of the tubular needle to supply marking ink thereto, and a piston member for applying pressure on the marking ink held in the tank manually or by power so as to force out the marking ink into the tubular needle, discharging the marking ink through the discharge port at the lower end of the tubular needle, and impressing an ink mark on each of the horizontally superposed fabric pieces during one reciprocating movement of the tubular needle.
However, the following difficulties arose with the driving of the tubular needle of the conventional fabric-marking apparatus. Namely, as the tubular needle was inserted more deeply into the superposed fabric pieces, said needle was encountered with a greater frictional resistance, and sometimes buckled or was broken. As the result, the tubular needle was limited in length, preventing a considerably large number of superposed fabric pieces from being marked. Further, even though the forward end of the tubular needle was rounded so as to be as much saved from a frictional resistance as possible, yet it often happened that the tubular needle damaged the threads of the superposed fabric pieces while passing therethrough. With fabric such as hosiery or knittings, therefore, the threads of the woven parts pierced by the tubular needle were loosened to present visible scars. Moreover, the prior art fabric-marking apparatus was not provided with means for vertically guiding the tubular needle so as to prevent it from being bent sidewise during its vertical movement, ofter resulting in the displacement of its forward end or the buckling or breakage of the tubular needle itself.